The Shadow People

"They watch us, and then they become us."

Writer: Scott Handcock 

Format: Audio

Released: October 2009

Series: SJA Audio 05

Featuring: Sarah Jane, Luke, Clyde, Rani

Synopsis

A camping trip spells trouble for Sarah Jane and friends...

When both the school bus and Sarah Jane's car break down in Snowdonia, the gang find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Exploring by a lake, Rani sees a shadowy figure that looks exactly like her. Then Sarah Jane hears a voice asking for help, and sees a mysterious figure outside her tent. Who is watching them, and why? How can Rani be in two places at once? And what secret does a nearby cave hold?

Verdict

The Shadow People was another really strong audio from the Sarah Jane Adventures! Thanks to a little hiccup on the Audible collection of the SJA audios from BBC, I'm now six stories in and I have to say that as a whole I've been pleasantly surprised by the consistency and quality of this collection. This was another fine adventure and it was refreshing to venture far from Ealing. It's always a little too coincidental that so much alien activity happens in the area so having the gang venture off to Snowdonia was very exciting! As a Welshman, I thought the way the beauty of Wales was sold was actually delightful and whilst the local knowledge was a little off (you don't get too many valleys en route to Snowdonia from London), it was really nice and appreciated to take the spinoff range to my wonderful nation. The idea of a school to Snowdonia to study rock formations seemed a bit surprising for a school in Ealing, London but they couldn't pick a better location! Clyde and Luke having missed the bus because of a shapeshifting kitten was amusing, but I did think there could have been a better reason to involve Sarah Jane than that! Keeping things simple like oversleeping would have been more effective I think. It worked well that both the school bus and Sarah's car stopped working in the same place and that showed that there was something going on in the surrounding vicinity. I really enjoyed the continuity with The Mark of the Berserker and the sat-nav to track Rani's phone as a means to reach the bus, and I think more of that would be good in linking with the televised series. I thought they made good use of the Snowdonia setting and the threat of it getting dark soon became a very serious one. Splitting everyone up was good and making use of the light to put up the tents was so simple but I liked the realism. Haresh featuring was fun and I liked how his interaction with Sarah Jane was presented. They have a fun relationship and them being the adults amongst a gang of schoolchildren was terrific. I thought the Shedagen were an intriguing element as the titular Shadow People and their ability to replicate was very fun. The image of two versions of Luke and then Sarah was brilliant and I always like the creepiness of looking at one's self. The build up to the sacrifice of Sarah's doppelgänger when it came to the feelings felt towards Luke was done very well and it was just fun to have multiple versions of characters. It probably would have had more of an impact if we had an extra actor, but Elisabeth Sladen did a tremendous job in the narration. It's so lovely from a personal perspective to get extra content with her leading the way as she is just tremendous and a Doctor Who icon. It was fun that Sarah Jane only stayed the one night as promised and getting a glimpse of her doppelgänger alongside the gang of Rani, Luke and Clyde was a nice touch to show all of the good they did and stood for. Overall, a fantastic adventure! 

Rating: 8/10